


Plan Two

by 15dogs



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Casual Sex, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fred Weasley Lives, Friends to Lovers, Post-War, Remus Lupin & Nymphadora Tonks Live, Romanian Dragon Sanctuary (Harry Potter), Secret Crush, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:07:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25523341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/15dogs/pseuds/15dogs
Summary: The pair worked in silence until Adrian couldn’t take the tension. “You’re one of the bravest people I know, Charlie,” she began. Charlie eyed her in shock at her angle. “You work with dragons without a single ounce of doubt or fear in you. How come, when it comes to women-- when it comes to me-- that you can’t be brave?”
Relationships: Charlie Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	1. The Effects of Time

Adrian exited the International Travel Department in the Ministry, unbearably exhausted from her travel. She adjusted her skirt to keep herself distracted from the pain of waiting. It had been about two years since she had seen her best friend Charlie Weasley. Things got messy after the war which made them unable to see each other face to face. They kept in touch through letters but with Adrian’s travelling schedule as an advertising agent and Charlie’s strict duties as a dragonologist both parties had no time to see one another. It seemed strange that, in all of her years working in advertisement for magical creatures, Adrian had never gotten the chance to do advertisement for the reserve Charlie worked on. But never mind that, it was finally happening. Adrian would be able to see her best friend again.

Adrian’s eyes scanned the crowd of people, looking for Charlie who claimed that he would be meeting her there. As soon as she began to worry that he had forgotten about her, a pair of shockingly strong arms wrapped around her midsection. They gave her a tight squeeze as they lifted her in the air. She squealed loudly which drew the attention of other people in the area. Adrian recognized the scarred and mangled arms of her best friend and instantly relaxed, letting out a hearty laugh. He released her so she turned around to justify her assumption.

“Hey, twat!” Adrian whispered as she smacked Charlie’s head. Charlie rubbed the spot on his head and chuckled.

The pair stared at each other, wide grins plastered on their faces. It took no more than a few seconds before they enveloped one another in a tight hug. Adrian gasped for air between a happy sob while Charlie held her closer. The two pulled away after what felt like an eternity, Adrian quickly wiping her face of the few escaped tears on her cheeks.

“Merlin, I’ve missed you so much,” Adrian sighed. Her eyes raked his body over. “You got so strong! And, Merlin, your hair! Your mum is going to kill you.” Adrian grabbed his hair in a fistful, ogling the length. Charlie laughed as he carefully removed her entangled hands.

“She’s already seen it and I assure you it’s not as bad as Bill’s,” he joked. Charlie eyed her attire, noticing how much she’d changed from the last time he’d seen her. “And you look so...distinguished.” Adrian rolled her eyes.

“I know, I know. I look like a right git. But I have to dress like this now that I got promoted,” Adrian added with a sly grin. Charlie’s jaw dropped at her comment.

“You’re joking,” he said. Adrian shook her head with an excited smile. “That’s amazing news! My best friend got promoted!” Charlie shouted as if he were trying to reach the entire Ministry. Adrian fought off a laugh as she shushed him.

“Shut your mouth! People are staring!” Adrian whispered jokingly. Charlie calmed down but still kept a malicious grin on his face.

“But seriously Adrian-”

“Oh,” she interrupted meekly. “I actually ask people at work to address me by my middle name. A lot of the girls at work didn’t take me seriously for having a boys’ name so I go by Charlotte. For future reference.” Charlie’s smile fell slightly which broke Adrian’s heart a little. He noticed her frown and immediately returned to his excited demeanor, raising Adrian’s spirits.

“Right. Well, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” Adrian replied, looking at him through lowered lashes. She looked down at her briefcase by her feet, snatching it up before eyeing Charlie with a sigh. “So? Are we ready to go?”

“Let’s do it,” Charlie said as he wrapped an arm around Adrian. Before she knew it, the two were apparating away to Charlie’s house.

Adrian arrived in his foyer alongside him. While she admired the quaint cabin, Charlie made his way to the kitchen. He had set a teapot on the stove earlier and left it on while he was gone. Adrian, alarmed, noted to never tell Molly about Charlie’s idiocracy. Adrian took a seat on the couch, pushing a few (hopefully) clean shirts aside.

“Here,” Charlie said as he offered a cup to her.

They drank in silence for a bit. Although they had kept in touch, it was still difficult to transfer from paper to real life.

“So,” Charlie finally started. “Because you’re going by Charlotte, can I call you Cherry again?” Adrian began choking on her tea.

“You arse!” she cried, kicking him in the shin. “ _ No _ , you absolutely  _ cannot _ call me Cherry again. Besides, I’m only going by Charlotte at work-- you can still call me Adrian.”

“I think I’ll stick to Cherry, thanks,” Charlie teased, causing Adrian to kick him again. The pair dissolved into laughter and there was something so sweet and sentimental about it.

“I can’t believe I went by Cherry when I was little,” the girl sighed. “What a stupid name.”

“I can’t believe you don’t hex me into oblivion whenever I bring it up.”

“Remind me to do that next time.”

“Not a chance,” he said, smiling.

Adrian took a final sip of her tea before standing up. “I should get going. I need to find the main office to get the keys to my cabin.”

“Keys to your cabin?” Charlie stood up, meeting her eyes. His gaze immediately fell to the ground with a sheepish laugh. “I have to admit, I thought you’d be staying with me. Or, at least, you’d be staying with me for a few months until you get your own place. Sure as hell would make up for the last two years of not seeing each other.”

Adrian was torn. All of her bags were at her new cabin but she admittedly wanted to spend more time with Charlie. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to spend the night,” she finally said.

“Fantastic!” he cheered. “I already have the guest bedroom set up for you.” Before Adrian could stop him, Charlie was already on his way upstairs to drop off her briefcase and make final touches on her room. Adrian laughed to herself at his insistence while she slipped off of her heels.

“Hey, Charlie?” Adrian called up to him, coming to a realization as the night neared an end.

“Yes?” Charlie leaned his head over the railing to eye his best friend.

“I don’t have any of my things. I sent my stuff to my new place.”

“I actually spoke with Vivian-- lovely lady, works as a receptionist-- and asked her to send your things to my place.”

“Oh,” Adrian sighed appreciatively. She was shocked at how much he’d prepared for her arrival, seeing as he hadn’t been prepared for a single thing in his life. “Where’s the bathroom, Charlie? I think I’m going to get ready for bed.”

“It’s up here on the right.” Charlie pointed towards the door before disappearing into her room.

“Toss that bag with the ugly floral design out please!” Just as she asked, the bag flew out of the room.

Adrian stalked up the stairs, snatching the bag outside her door. She turned to her right and froze at the sight of two identical doors. From the living room Adrian could only see one door so she couldn’t figure out which one was the bathroom. She took a guess and entered the first door, arriving in what could only be Charlie’s room. She scoffed at his bachelor style life, carefully navigating her way through the mess of clothes. Adrian shrugged and began to change-- she could go to the bathroom to brush her teeth in a minute. 

Adrian unzipped her skirt and removed her blouse before rifling through the bag to find a nightgown. She looked up from her bag for a moment to see pictures that she hadn’t noticed before lining the room. She walked towards the first frame to examine the photo. Pictured were Charlie and his family posing together in their backyard. 

The frame next to that had a photo of Charlie standing in front of what had to be his first dragon. Adrian chuckled at how small and timid he looked. 

The third frame held a photo of Adrian, Charlie, and his siblings. The boys (excluding Bill) eyed Adrian warily. She and Charlie had babysat the lot of them and they had grown quite fond of her growing up; some more than others. Adrian’s arms were wrapped around Ginny, who was grasping onto the older girl’s arms. 

The last frame contained a photo of solely her and Charlie. Adrian remembered that day. The pair stood side by side with acceptance letters for their respective careers. Adrian was going in as an assistant and Charlie a trainee.

Adrian was disrupted from her happy memory by the sound of a lusted breath and a door slam. Adrian whipped her head around to see the door just shut. Charlie had seen her. “Merlin, I’m sorry!” Charlie called from the other side of the door.

“No, no, this is my fault! I got lost!” Adrian replied as she hurriedly changed into the silk nightgown she pulled out.

“Are you decent? Can I come in now?”

Adrian hurried to the door while saying, “Yes!”

She reached to open the door as did Charlie. She opened the door before he did and his hand fell against her waist. Adrian jumped back at his touch and began to blush.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “I’m...I’m going to go to bed now. Night, Charlie.” Charlie sputtered but couldn’t say a word. After a few seconds, Adrian pushed past him to go to her room.

Adrian was so caught up in the strangeness of the situation that she didn’t even realize that she left her bag and her clothes in his room. She simply fell onto her bed, hoping she could forget about it.


	2. Nothing I Haven't Seen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian has her first day of work and assesses the state of the reserve while assessing the nature of her and Charlie's friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is a bit of a longer chapter but it definitely has some fun Charlie/Adrian banter in it!! enjoy :)

Adrian got up the next morning and immediately went to shower. She saw that Charlie’s door was shut so she assumed that she had gotten up before he did. It took her no more than half an hour to get ready in full business attire. She had to meet with the head of the reserve in twenty minutes so she needed to look the part. 

Adrian walked downstairs into the kitchen to find a note on top of a bag of granola. She carefully opened the note to see Charlie’s terrible handwriting.

_ Cherry (don’t kill me), _

_ I have the morning shift today so I was out of here early. I left you some homemade granola because I know that you always wake up too late to eat breakfast you git. Dinner at my place tonight after work. _

Adrian let out a soft laugh as she pocketed the breakfast in her purse before making her way out the door. Her heels met the soft ground and she nearly stumbled as one foot sunk a little further than the other. Adrian looked around for any sign that would direct her towards the office, spotting a directory post that signaled her north. She kept her pace up so as to not fall into any soft spots again. Her hand made its way to the doorknob, revealing a quaint waiting room with a young receptionist at a large oak desk. She wrote something thoughtfully on a piece of parchment. Every now and then she would tap her eagle feathered quill on her chin in thought. Adrian walked towards the desk, rapping on it quietly to wake the dazed girl from her thoughts.

“Oh!” she exclaimed with a drop of her quill. “Can I help you?”

“I’m Charlotte Arrowman. I’m here to meet Mr. Ardelean.”

“One moment, please!” The girl picked up her wand to cast a spell which brought her a packed folder from a filing cabinet behind her. She quickly pulled out a sheet and began to rapidly fill it in. “Arrowman, right?” the receptionist asked with a quick glance up.

“Yes, Charlotte Arrowman.” 

The receptionist nodded with satisfaction before her eyes widened in realization. She slowly lifted her head and said, “Are you Charlie’s friend?”

“Yes,” Adrian replied with a chuckle.

“I’ve heard so much about you!” The receptionist stood up to vigorously shake Adrian’s free hand. “I’m Vivian.”

“Charlie’s mentioned you-- he said you were a lovely person. I can see that he was right.” Vivian sat down, blushing at Adrian’s comment.

“That’s very kind of you, Miss Arrowman.”

Vivian returned to her paperwork, occasionally looking up at Adrian in awe. However, Adrian didn’t notice as she eyed the completely bare, uninviting walls of the office with displeasement. Her view was displaced by a broad shouldered man in a tightfitting shirt.

“Miss Arrowman?” the man questioned.

“Yes,” Adrian replied, walking over to him to shake his hand. “I’m assuming that you’re-”

“Marius Ardelean,” he finished proudly.

“Right. Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Adrelean.”

“Please,” he replied with a sigh. “Call me Marius.”

“All right then, Marius.” Adrian drifted away from the short man to motion towards the walls of the office. “I have much to discuss with you but I’d first like to ask about your lack of decor in your central building.” Marius’ eyes widened as if he had taken offense to her comment.

“I hardly see the need for any decor if we don’t allow guests,” he retorted.

Adrian placed a hand on Marius’s back as if to guide him away from the waiting room. She waved to Vivian as she scooted by her to which Vivian smiled brightly and excitedly waved back. Adrian escorted Marius to a door with his name labeled on, letting herself in.

“Guests. That’s another matter we should discuss.” Marius opened his mouth to speak but Adrian cut him off with the raising of her hand. “I know that-- for legal reasons-- it would be unsafe and unwise to bring untrained personnel onto the property but hear me out: what about lecture halls and footage of our work? We could get real workers to talk about their jobs as well as plastering images and videos of the reserve.”

“Where would we hold something like that? How would we get the money for it?” Marius looked more exhausted by the second, his mind overflowing with questions.

“We can figure out where to hold it on a later date but you do bring up a valid point: how will we pay?” Adrian motioned her hand towards his desk to which they both sat on their respective sides. Adrian rested her briefcase on her lap while she pulled out a stack of papers covered in markings, sliding them across the table towards Marius. “These document your spendings, earnings, and overall budget. Your reserve is severely understaffed, Marius. I’ve gathered that it’s due to your inability to pay new staff. If we can convince some of your staff to volunteer to lecture until we can pay them, we might be in the clear. Or, at least, it’s a solid start.”

Marius had no idea where to begin. His reserve was small and unassuming, just the way he liked it. At least, he liked it until the possibility of closure began to threaten him. With his last bit of expendable cash, Marius had hired a PR agent to hopefully turn his reserve around. However, when he hired her, he didn’t think she’d be so forceful.

“Where did you get all this information?” Marius finally asked. Adrian eyed him warily.

“You have to supply my agency with budgeting information before you get assigned an agent. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Adrian spotted a guest tag on the desk, snatching it quickly to Marius’s surprise. She pulled a small quill from her briefcase and dipped it in his inkwell to sign her name on the badge. She clipped the pass on the lapel of her blazer while saying, “I’d like to take a look around the reserve.”

Marius stood up to object. “Miss Arrowman, you can’t-”

“I know that it can be difficult to put your life’s work into the hands of someone else but trust me, Marius, your establishment is in good care.”

Adrian continued to walk out of the room when Marius stopped her with a more demanding exclamation. “ _ Miss Arrowman- _ ”

“We’re going to grow quite close within my time being here so please, no need for the formality. Call me Charlotte.”

Adrian exited from the main office, waving at an ecstatic Vivian once more. She took one step outside and hit a soft spot in the grassy terrain, temporarily losing her balance. It took only that reminder for Adrian to cast a charm on her shoes to keep her upright. Once she had fixed her issue, she continued on walking across the reserve. 

On her rush of a walk in the morning, Adrian hadn’t noticed the close proximity of the dragons; from where she stood, she could make out about three. However, her left-brain side began to act up as she spotted a dilapidated sign with a scraped off descriptor of the dragons ahead. Adrian pulled out a notebook and quill, jotting down notes as she walked. Even though the notes she wrote were for her own use, Adrian insisted on using a quill to assure her best penmanship; her boss told her that, if anyone saw her notes on accident, they would take her more seriously if they saw how dedicated she was to her work.

“Fresh meat!” a man called from across the open field of the reserve. Adrian rolled her eyes and continued walking but the man jogged towards her, the two falling in step.

“You know,” the man said. “That little outfit isn’t regulation but it sure does wonders for you.”

“And what  _ would _ be regulation?” Adrian asked, stopping to look the trainer up and down. He wore a loose shirt that covered his arms but looked more for recreation than for safety. He had a pair of cargo pants on, some old leather gloves tacked onto his belt. To finish off his look, he wore a dirty pair of boots that looked as if they’d been mangled by who knows what. Adrian made a quick note of his clothes while waiting for his response.

“Good question. It’s not this,” he commented, motioning towards his clothes. “And it definitely isn’t that.” The trainer motioned at Adrian’s clothing, evoking a scoff from her as she continued walking.

“For your information, I’m not a dragonologist-”

“Excellent! I try to keep my work relationships strictly professional and you were making that quite difficult.” Adrian fought the urge to roll her eyes at his stupidity.

“This  _ is _ a work relationship-- I’m the new PR agent here,” Adrian shot back. “And to whom do I owe the pleasure?”

“Nick Helminski. And you are?”

“Charlotte Arrowman,” Adrian explained, tapping her guest pass with the end of her quill. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work that I need to attend to. I suggest you do the same.” Adrian began to walk quickly away from Nick, spotting an old building not too far off that she wanted to inspect.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Nick called after her.

“I hope not!”

Adrian propped herself up against the side of Charlie’s cabin as she knocked on the door. The pain of being in heels all day wasn’t great in a normal circumstance but it hurt even more to be walking across the open fields. After what felt like a painstaking eternity, the door opened. Charlie revealed himself with a wide smile, it slowly faded as he scanned her worn body.

“You look terrible,” Charlie commented. Adrian scoffed and rolled her eyes in a mock attempt to hide the obvious truth. 

Adrian pushed past Charlie to enter his house, immediately collapsing on his couch. Charlie, after shutting the door behind her, made his way to the kitchen to retrieve some drinks. He placed a glass in front of his friend, pouring some wine for her. She nodded gratefully as he resumed position on the loveseat. He pulled his wand out from a pocket in his pants. With a quick swish of it, a beer flew from the kitchen into his hands.

“How was your day?” Adrian asked while removing her shoes. She rubbed her foot achingly with a sigh of relief.

“Not entirely terrible,” Charlie admitted before taking a swig of his drink. “But I’m much more curious about yours-- how’s the reserve? Is she going to survive?”

Adrian took a long sip from her drink while shrugging. “It doesn’t look great,” she said. Charlie’s expression fell immediately. “But it’s not impossible.” Charlie clapped his hands together with an excited laugh.

“Thank Godric,” he exclaimed. “She’ll live on!”

“This has to be one of the worst kept magical creature reserve, sanctuary, research center, or all of the above that I’ve ever seen. However, it’s not completely unfortunate-- nothing I can’t fix.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Cherry. Honest.” Charlie clapped Adrian’s thigh with a wide grin.

“If I weren’t so exhausted I’d hex you.”

“That’s my Cherry,” Charlie taunted, knowing he was able to get away with it with only a sharp glare from Adrian.

Charlie stood up from his chair to enter the kitchen. After a moment to muster her strength, Adrian followed. She stumbled towards the table where Charlie had placed cutlery, soup, and cottage pie in front of both seats.

“Charlie,” Adrian gasped as she eyed the display. “What’s all this?” Charlie turned to face her and, for the first time that Adrian could recall, he got embarrassed. 

Charlie had gotten embarrassed at normal things: accidentally waving to a stranger, getting caught fooling around in class, or receiving silence after a particularly poor joke. But never in Adrian’s life had she noticed that Charlie Weasley of all people would get embarrassed from preparing an excellent dinner for his best friend.

“Consider it an ‘I Missed You, Welcome to Romania’ dinner, seeing as we didn’t have one last night.” 

Charlie suddenly became fixated with rearranging the table. Adrian reached a gentle hand out to grab his gruff ones, gaining his attention. She rubbed a soft circle on the back of his hand, a kind smile appearing on her face.

“Hey,” she whispered. “I missed you too.”

Charlie blushed.

The red haired boy retracted his hand from hers while clearing his throat. He motioned towards the display and said, “Let’s not waste any more time, then-- eat.”

Dinner was fantastic. The two chatted about their work, Charlie filling her in on any questions she had about the reserve’s operations. Charlie also mentioned that he had spoken to Vivian and retrieved the keys to Adrian’s lone cabin. After they had finished, Adrian offered to clean up while Charlie got ready for bed. Once she washed off the last dish, Adrian felt herself give in to the exhaustion that had been creeping over her shoulder the whole night. She decided to simply lay down for a few minutes on the couch but, as soon as her aching body touched the worn fabric, she fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Adrian awoke to the sounds of Charlie milling about. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to see Charlie in nothing but his underwear, brewing a cup of coffee for himself. Adrian’s eyes widened while she gasped, alerting Charlie to her presence.

“You’re awake!” he said cheerfully. He poured the coffee into a cup before propping himself up on the countertop behind him so that he could face Adrian. “Coffee?”

“Merlin, leave  _ something _ to imagination,” Adrian muttered to herself, completely ignoring his offer. Charlie, unfortunately, had heard her and rolled his eyes at her comment.

“What? It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.”

“Not like this,” she retorted. Adrian hated the way her eyes lingered on his built form but she couldn’t help it-- he was a changed man. “I saw you in bathing suits when we were just teenagers and you hadn’t gotten-”

“Hot? Handsome? Perfect?” Charlie implored.

“No,” Adrian replied with a scoff as she sat up. “Muscles. You hadn’t gotten muscles.”

“Muscles does it for you, does it?” Charlie teased. “If I knew that’s what would have gotten you going then I wouldn’t have waited until after we graduated.” Adrian picked up the pillow beside her and threw it at Charlie.

“Don’t be gross, you troll.” Charlie dodged it with ease, chuckling at her behavior. After a moment, Charlie picked up a piece of paper from his kitchen table and summoned a pen. As he wrote, he threw an occasional glance over his shoulder towards his best friend, practically begging her to ask what he was doing. Finally, she gave in.

Adrian stood up, walking over towards Charlie and said, “What are you writing, Charlie?”

“I’m writing to my brothers-- excluding Bill, of course; he’s a married man-- to inform them that all they need to do to win your affections is to get muscles.” Charlie underlined the words ‘get muscles’ in his letter as he spoke.

Adrian gave Charlie a swift smack to the back of his head, causing him to stifle laughter. “Charles Weasley!” Adrian cried. “It’s bad enough they torture me at holidays but Merlin’s beard! I’ll be getting full body shots in the mail every day!”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Adrian smacked him again.

“I can’t believe I still talk to you.”

“Me either.”

Charlie finished off his coffee before making his way towards the staircase that led to his bedroom. He paused for a moment, turning on his heel to thoughtfully examine Adrian. She suddenly became very aware of his every look for a reason she couldn’t explain.

“As much as I love using satin-- it’s much more comfortable than leather from what I've heard,” Charlie began. Adrian cocked her head at the strange statement he was making, eyeing him warily for the terrible kicker that she knew was to come. “It doesn’t make the best top.”

“Pardon?”

“A D? I mean, hey, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before but you really...changed over the past few years.”

Adrian’s eyes drifted downwards to see that her silk shirt had fallen around her waist. She scrambled to pull her shirt up while her face heated to an obnoxious shade of red. She contemplated the awkward situation before laughing to herself about the stupidity of it all. However, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling she got when Charlie stared her down in his state of dress.


	3. Field Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After spending a few weeks on the reserve, Adrian feels the need to get some publicity shots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more Adrian/Charlie banter plus some more romantic tension!

It had been weeks since Adrian had transferred to Romania but she was taking month-long projects and managed to fit them in. She had sectioned off a large room that used to be the old conference hall in the main office for the purpose of creating a lecture hall. While she waited for some of the construction plans to be finalized, Adrian scheduled a photoshoot around the reserve for decor and advertisements.

Adrian had been given a small office in the main building which was currently covered head to toe with papers, plans, and proposals. Her head didn’t lift from the list she wrote up of all the shots she wanted to get done when there was a small knock on her door.

“Come in,” she said. An awkward looking man opened the door, a camera hung around his neck.

“Hi,” he said meekly. “I’m Richie, the photographer.”

Adrian finally looked up at him, stretching her hand out for him to shake. “Thank you for coming out here, Richie. I’m Charlotte.”

Adrian sized the man up, noting that he looked several years younger than her. She was familiar with his agency so she knew he was well trained but Adrian did always enjoy having the newer members do her shoots because it was an easy career booster for them― not that she’d ever take credit for doing that.

“Right,” Adrian said, gathering her thoughts as she stood. She picked up the list of locations to hand it to Richie. “Here are the places that I’d like photos of. I’ll be walking around with you during the shoot in case something catches our eyes. Is that all right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The boy nodded as he pocketed the list.

“Shall we go?” Adrian opened her office door and motioned into the hallway. Richie scurried out while Adrian followed him with calm, deliberate steps, locking her office door behind her.

The pair had been roaming the grounds for a few hours, likely racking up hundreds of photos. The two hadn’t gotten any pictures of the dragons up close due to the fact that they lacked trainer supervision so they opted for distant shots that could be enhanced. They seemed to be nearing the end of their list; all that needed to be photographed next were dragonologists. Adrian spotted the familiar mop of red hair pulled back in a ponytail, quickly speeding up her walk towards him with a swift motion at Richie to follow.

“Oi!” Adrian shouted, gaining Charlie’s attention.

“Look at you! Working and such!” Charlie teased. Adrian rolled her eyes as she and Richie made it to the trainer. Charlie’s eyes fixated on the lanky man next to his best friend, his brow furrowing. With a nod of his head towards the young man, Charlie asked, “Who’s he?”

“My photographer for the day, Richie. Richie, this is Charlie Weasley. He’s a dragonologist here.”

The two men exchanged pleasantries after Adrian introduced them. Charlie’s eyes landed back on Adrian, his head cocked to the side as if he knew what she wanted to ask. “So,” Charlie began. “What’s the hurry about?”

“I was wondering if it would be possible to take a few photos of you while you work?” Adrian asked. Charlie let out a little chuckle at the pout that landed on her face while she begged him.

“Go for it. Although, I am rather disgusting currently.” Adrian eyed Charlie and saw that his shoes were caked in mud along with some dirt smeared on his face. Alongside that, strands of his hair that had fallen out of his hair tie clung to his forehead due to all the sweat on him. “Would you like me to go home so I can clean myself up?”

“No,” Adrian responded quickly with a shake of her head. “This is much more authentic and attention grabbing. Don’t mind us. Carry on.”

“As you wish, Char,” Charlie said as he walked away. 

Adrian trailed behind him, a soft grin slowly appearing on her face. He remembered to call her Charlotte at work. Adrian was a little afraid that he’d call her Cherry just to get a rise out of her and embarrass her but he stuck to something so simple yet personal enough to establish a relationship: Char.

Adrian and Richie had been following Charlie for nearly an hour before he got to his first dragon. Prior, he had been doing simple maintenance tasks which weren’t nearly as exciting as the prospect of getting close-ups of him caring for a dragon.

“Stay there,” Charlie warned before entering the dragon’s pen.

Richie angled his camera and took a few pictures of Charlie approaching the small maroon creature. The dragon simply opened its eyes, revealing a yellow tone to them. The dragon huffed a small bit of smoke before resting its eyes once more. Charlie laughed as he stroked the top of its head.

“This is Bella,” he called out. “She’s a young Italian Wyvern.”

“She’s quite adorable, I have to admit,” Adrian said back.

Charlie moved to Bella’s side, examining her wing. He sighed at his findings, moving towards Bella’s head once more. He leaned against her and murmured something out of earshot to the large dragon. All of which Adrian found quite endearing.

“Bella has an injured wing,” Charlie explained as he walked towards Adrian and Richie. He leaned against the posts while keeping his eyes on Bella. “She’s a rescue from some poachers.”

“That’s terrible. I had no idea that people were poaching dragons.” Charlie finally looked at Adrian who seemed to be legitimately upset at the matter.

“Dragon eggs and horns are incredibly valuable so these poachers will go through nearly anything they can to retrieve them.” Charlie looked back towards Bella who was fast asleep. “Even if it means breaking a wing or two.”

The day had passed by quickly and Adrian found herself back in her office. Richie had apparated away hours ago, claiming that he would get the pictures sent to her the next night, assuring her that their industrial computer and printer would be able to handle it. Adrian, however, couldn’t focus on the arrival of the photos because of a large issue that she had been presented with: a shipment of the windows she ordered for her construction project hadn’t gone through. So there Adrian was, in her office by herself, arguing with her contractor over the phone.

After about two hours or so, Adrian found herself hanging up on the contractor. She was never one to have a temper but her line of work often required forcefulness.

Adrian trudged back to her cabin, feeling an overwhelming sense of exhaustion sweep over her. She kicked off her shoes as she entered and didn’t bother to change into pajamas as she hit her bed. However, no matter how hard she tried, Adrian just couldn’t sleep; the idea that she was off schedule ate her up inside.

Adrian decided that it might be best for her to change into pajamas to make herself more comfortable but it didn’t work. Then she tried showering which also failed. So she sat in bed trying to dream herself to sleep but every fantasy she came up with always resulted in anxiety. She had finally managed to close her eyes an hour before she had to get up, entirely unready to start the day.


	4. A Guide to Creating Fantasies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian tries her best not think about Charlie but her unconscious brain has other plans for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! there is some sexual content in this chapter that happens after Adrian falls asleep so if you don't want to read it, that's fine no worries!! you don't need to read the dream to understand the plot so it's ok to skip :)

“I’m here!” Adrian called as she entered Charlie’s cabin. Adrian’s eyes bulged slightly as Charlie appeared in a towel, steaming from the shower he had just taken. Adrian hated the way she enjoyed the sight― it was her best friend, after all!

“Woah,” Charlie said as he spotted his friend. Adrian waited patiently for him to address the elephant in the room but he paid no mind to it. “You usually look tired after work but I think this sets a new record.”

“Tell me about it,” she muttered. Charlie walked upstairs to his room to change while Adrian sat on the stairs below.

“What happened to you?”

“What hasn’t happened?” Adrian complained. “Last night I got no sleep because my idiot of a contractor let some shipments fall through. Thankfully I figured it out today but I was so worried sick about it that nothing could put me to sleep.”

“Don’t you have some calming draught at your place?”

“I thought I brought some but I guess I didn’t. For a while I just sat in bed and tried to come up with any fantasy I could to drift off to but the stupid anxiety kept-”

“Hold on,” Charlie said as he exited his room. The tall ginger man stood above her on the stairs, drying off his hair with a small towel. “Did you say fantasy?”

“Yeah, why?” Adrian questioned innocently.

“What do you mean by fantasy?” Charlie eyed his friend cautiously as she suddenly became aware of herself.

“You know when you can’t fall asleep so you fantasize about something until it drifts into a dream?”

“I do  _ not _ know that,” Charlie replied, a smirk pulling at his lips. “Do tell what you fantasize about.”

“Don’t be gross,” Adrian shot as she followed him to the kitchen. “It’s nothing sexual, so stop it.” Charlie raised his eyebrows at her before winking.

“Come on,” he said. “You really expect me to believe that?”

“I absolutely do!”

“Fine, fine,” Charlie laughed. Suddenly, Charlie shoved a plate into Adrian’s arms.

“What’s this? Aren’t we eating here?” Adrian’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“You barely slept last night, Adrian. Go home and get some rest. I packed you a plate in case you get hungry.”

Adrian looked at Charlie who had a sincere, caring look on his face. She immediately softened under his gaze and put the plate on the table, falling into his arms. Charlie took no time to hold her, his strong arms keeping a tight grip on her.

Adrian pulled away, whispering, “Thank you.” For a reason she couldn’t decipher, Charlie’s face began to turn a light shade of red.

“Of course,” he said as he handed her the plate again. “Get going. We can do dinner tomorrow.”

Adrian made her way to the door, plate in hand, giving her friend an appreciative nod goodbye. She trotted back to her cabin, finally feeling the weight of a poor night’s sleep setting in. As she stepped into her house, Adrian nearly slipped on an envelope under her feet. She picked it up and opened it, seeing a photo or two from the shoot the day prior.

Adrian put the food Charlie had packed for her in the fridge before inspecting the photos further with a glass of wine and pajamas on. She pulled her nightgown down as she sat on her couch, pulling out the photos. She only skimmed the photos and pulled out a few that stuck out to her until she reached some at the very end of the pile; Richie must have taken a few photos of her and Charlie. Adrian put her wine down as she rested a hand on her cheeks, feeling them warm up. There were a few pictures of the pair laughing and smiling together but one in particular caught her eye: she pointed towards a building while explaining something as Charlie looked at her in total admiration. Adrian’s jaw dropped and she felt her whole body heat up. She shook off the feeling as quick as it came, putting the picture off to the side.

Adrian filed through a few more photos of Charlie absentmindedly but froze at a certain picture: Charlie’s shirt was lifted to his face to wipe off some sweat and dirt, revealing his taut stomach in a most attractive way. It wasn’t like Adrian hadn’t seen him shirtless recently but this time she didn’t have to pretend like she didn’t want to look. Adrian ran a finger down the side of the picture with a lusted breath. However, she caught herself before she got too invested in his handsomeness, opting to sleep instead.

Adrian made her way to her bed, sighing as her eyes shut. No matter how hard she tried to fall asleep to any fantasy her mind kept wandering back to that picture of Charlie. After nearly forty-five minutes of trying to sleep, she relented, letting the idea of Charlie in her mind.

_ “Char,” a commanding voice said. Adrian looked up at the doorframe of her office to see Charlie leaning against it. _

_ “Charlie, it’s after work hours, you can call me Adrian,” she joked. Charlie’s grin lit up in happiness but his eyes were aflame with something else. “Can I help you?” _

_ Charlie walked towards her desk, reaching into his pants pocket. Finally, he pulled out a pair of lacy blue panties and dropped them in front of her. “You left these at my house last night.” Adrian gasped at the gesture but felt her insides heat up. _

_ “Thank you,” she muttered. She ducked her head down to hide her blushing face but Charlie lifted her up by the chin. _

_ “But that has me thinking,” he began, staring deeply in her eyes. “What are you wearing right now? You slept over last night and brought clothes with you but somehow those were on my floor. Just asking.”  _

_ Charlie let go of her face and moved across the small office. Adrian got up to round her desk, leaning on it. “I brought another pair,” she explained. “I had two total.” _

_ Charlie stalked over to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “But you didn’t.” Adrian’s eyes went wide as she got caught in her lie. “You weren’t wearing panties last night.” _

_ “What have you really come here for?” Adrian asked, knowing his answer. She took a few deep breaths to calm the fire within her but it was no use― she wanted him. _

_ “Because I love you and I want to see you spread out on this desk,” he whispered, his voice gruff in her ear causing a shudder down her spine. _

_ “What are you waiting for?” _

_ Charlie’s calloused hands wrapped around Adrian’s neck, pulling her into a deep and passionate kiss. Adrian moaned as Charlie tugged her hair slightly to release it from the bun she had to have in all day. The couple pulled away, their eyes locked while they rested their foreheads on each other’s. _

_ “I like it better down,” Charlie murmured. _

_ Charlie dipped his head down again to meet Adrian’s as he lifted her ever so slightly onto her desk. Adrian took the momentary pause to tug on Charlie’s shirt to which he made quick work of discarding it. As Charlie peppered her neck with kisses, he reached a hand up to remove the blazer Adrian wore. In between the pleasure, Adrian attempted to unbutton her shirt as well, revealing her lace bra. Charlie’s fingers ran across the scalloped edge before allowing his thumb to dive below the fabric. Adrian’s head tipped back as she felt her boyfriend’s fingers reach her nipple, rolling it agonizingly slow. _

_ Charlie met her lips again as his free hand rested on her upper thigh. Adrian subconsciously spread her legs as Charlie inched up her thigh. Just before his finger could fulfill her desires, he pulled off of her. Adrian began to pout as she reached out for the red haired man in front of her but he dodged her grasp as he undid her bra. _

_ “Fuck, babe. Your tits are amazing.” _

_ Before Adrian could respond, she was cut off by her own moan that was caused by Charlie enveloping her left nipple in his mouth. She ran her fingers through his hair, tugging on it now and then from any particularly pleasurable sensations. _

_ Charlie moved away from his girlfriend for just a moment so he could reposition himself. She took the opportunity to remove her skirt while he also removed the rest of his clothing. She laid down on the desk, her body spread across it. Charlie pounced on her, his hand trailing down to her throbbing clit. He kissed her breasts while he began easing the tension in her, building up a new kind of tension. As Adrian’s moaning became louder and her hips jerked upwards furiously, hoping for a different sort of contact, Charlie gave in. He pulled one of her legs around his shoulder, thanking Merlin that she was as flexible as she was. He lined up to enter her, her desire nearly fulfilled, finally thrusting in to- _

Adrian awoke with a loud gasp.


	5. How Not to Make a Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian strategizes a plan after her dream the night before with a couple of friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tonks and Remus are here! things are about to get more intense very quickly!!

“Come on, come on,” Adrian muttered as she paced in front of her fireplace.

She had summoned Tonks after she had woken up from her dream, knowing that she would be the only person that she could talk to about it. Tonks and her had been in the same year at Hogwarts. Even though they weren’t in the same house, they shared quite a few classes together over the years and the pair became rather close. During the war, Adrian had been with Tonks and her husband, Remus, just barely saving the couple.

“Adrian, it’s three in the morning! Perfect time to call!” Tonks said joyfully as her head appeared through the floo. Adrian fell on to the ottoman she had placed near the fireplace. “You look sick as a dog. Are you doing alright?”

“I don’t know...no?” Adrian groaned as her head fell into her hands. “I’m just really confused about what to do.”

“What happened…” Tonks trailed off at the sound of a lazy footsteps behind her, her head whipping around.

“What are you doing up?” Remus asked groggily.

“Talking to Adrian. Care to join?”

“Seeing as I’m up now, why not.” Remus’s head appeared next to Tonks’s in the fireplace. However, upon seeing Adrian’s distressed state, Remus began to question his appearance. “I’m not intruding, am I?”

“Absolutely not. In this situation, I think more heads the merrier.”

“Right,” Tonks said. “So what’s got you in a state?”

Adrian took a deep breath and clenched her eyes shut. “I had a sex dream.”

“I have a feeling I shouldn’t be here,” Remus muttered as he attempted to stand up but failed due to his wife pulling him down.

“Do tell!” Tonks exclaimed. “I thought you were single at the moment.”

“I am-”

“Then you fancy someone?” Tonks turned to Remus and shook him excitedly. “Adrian fancies someone!”

“Yes,” Remus chuckled. “But who?”

Adrian waited a moment to prepare herself for what she was about to say. “Charlie Weasley.”

Both Tonks’ and Remus’ expressions fell. “Well, shit…” Tonks managed to say.

“I  _ know! _ ” Adrian groaned. “How terrible is that!”

“It’s not  _ that _ bad,” Tonks said in an attempt to comfort her friend. “You two have been friends since long before we met-”

“That’s part of the problem!” Adrian jumped up from her seat and began to pace around her cabin. “This will ruin our friendship!”

“How do you know he doesn’t feel the same way?” Remus asked. 

Adrian stopped in her tracks, her mind shifting to all the things that could have possibly indicated how Charlie felt towards her. She shook her head and said, “I doubt he would. I’ve been working with him for almost two months now and he has changed nothing about how he treats me.”

“Maybe he’s always fancied you,” Tonks teased, receiving a very unappreciative glare from Adrian.

“Merlin, what do I do?” Adrian whined as she fell down into her seat. “I wish I could forget the dream but I just...can’t. Ravena, it infuriates me to no end. It should have been so obvious when I first saw him and all his stupid rugged handsomeness and I could have avoided this all but no, I had to look at the stupid photos…” Adrian trailed off as she rambled to herself.

“Pardon,” Tonks interrupted. “Photos? What photos?”

Adrian looked up at Tonks before retrieving the photos from the table behind her. Adrian shuffled through to find the nearly shirtless photo of her best friend, sighing and rolling her eyes as she turned the photo towards the fireplace.

“Merlin’s beard!” Tonks cried. “Do you have a second copy of that?” Tonks’s comment evoked a small chuckle from Adrian while Remus looked at her with amusement.

“Keep it in your pants,” he teased.

“That’s exactly where I intend to keep it,” Tonks fired back, nudging her husband playfully.

“Please,” Adrian begged, the sound of her voice grounding the couple in front of her. “I don’t know what to do.”

Remus sighed and eyed the distressed woman. “I think you should tell him.” Remus was given a warning glare from Adrian, catching his mistake. “Not everything! Just that you fancy him and leave out...the dream.”

“What if he rejects me? I’ll look like a fool and he’ll probably never want to talk to me again.”

“You’re overthinking this, Adrian. You two have been friends since you were little so I doubt he’d let something like this ruin your friendship. But if things don’t go according to plan, then you move on and find yourself a nice man who will care for you the way you care for Charlie.”

“I suppose,” Adrian said. Her eyes drifted towards Tonks who looked more than ready for her husband to finish speaking.

“I disagree,” Tonks said. “I bet they don’t get many new people on the reserve all that often.”

“So?” Adrian questioned.

“So you’re fresh meat.”

“What do you mean?”

“Meaning that you can get one out of your system and I’m sure Charlie wants to do the same.” Tonks wiggled her eyebrows while Remus rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think I get what you’re saying,” Adrian said with a cock of her head.

“Merlin, woman!” Tonks bursted. “Just shag the man and be done with it!” Adrian gasped at her crudeness but fell into a laugh at the nature of her friend.

“I suppose I never thought about it like that,” Adrian chuckled.

The conversation was soon interrupted by a rap on the door. Adrian’s head whipped towards her door then back towards the fireplace.

“Are you expecting someone?” Remus asked.

“No,” Adrian muttered as she walked towards the door.

Adrian’s heart stilled at the sound of a familiar voice yelling, “Adrian! Are you awake?”

Adrian looked towards her friends in the fireplace, shooing them quickly. “It’s him! It’s Charlie!” she whispered.

“We’ll leave you to it,” Tonks said, winking at her friend. “Keep us updated!” With that, the couples’ faces disappeared from Adrian’s fireplace.

Adrian walked to the door and opened it. Charlie was leaning against the doorframe when he spotted her. His gaze dragged over her body and Adrian became painfully aware of everything between them.

“Did I wake you?” Charlie asked. The concern in his voice made Adrian melt slightly but she didn’t let it show.

“No,” she replied. “No, not at all. I woke up not too long ago.”

“Right.” Charlie held his gaze on her nightgown-clad body for a moment longer before turning to face the fields. “I was called to fetch you for Jason?”

Adrian groaned and rolled her eyes. “That’s my contractor. What does he want?”

“Not sure. Marius told me that Jason needed you.”

Adrian groaned once more before stomping off the put on heels. She walked back towards Charlie, snatching a coat off the rack by the door. “Does this nightgown look like a dress enough for me to get away with not changing?”

Adrian felt immediately embarrassed by the request as Charlie’s eyes roved over her body. “You look great,” he said. 

He placed a hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the cabin. Adrian felt a shiver run down her spine at his touch. Adrian bit her lip to fight the urge of smiling at the absolute wonderful sensation.

It had been a few weeks since Adrian realized that she had feelings for her best friend and she had yet to decide what her plan of action was. Adrian found herself drifting off during work, often zoning out during important conferences. She decided that it was about time that she worked out her issue when she had sent the wrong photos to the printing company, causing the main office to be plastered with blueprints for the lecture hall.

Adrian sat on Charlie’s counter while he washed off the final few plates. After Charlie had put the plates away, he stood in front of Adrian, his hands on either sides of her thighs. The similarity of the situation and her dream became slightly overwhelming so she attempted to scoot out of his way but ended up jumping into his arms.

“Sorry,” Adrian muttered lamely. 

Her cheeks turned a bright shade of red and she tried to avoid his stare. However, Charlie leaned down to meet her eyes. It took every fiber in Adrian’s body for her not to reach out to kiss him. For a moment, Adrian could swear she saw Charlie’s eyes flicker towards her lips, causing her to suck in a sharp breath.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Charlotte!” a man called. Adrian quickly pushed off of Charlie at the sound of her name. Adrian ran to the door, not planning to look back at Charlie so he wouldn’t see how badly she was blushing.

“Nick,” Adrian said resolutely as she opened the door. She heard Charlie shuffle behind her.

“Hi, Charlotte.” Nick’s eyes moved past Adrian to spot Charlie looking a mix of mortified and confused. “Weasley.”

“What are you doing here? How did you find me here?” Adrian asked. She didn’t dare look behind her to see her friend’s face because she, too, was embarrassed.

“I went to your place first but your neighbor, Karin, said that she saw you head this way. I took a shot in the dark but I knew that you and Weasley...know one another.”

“We’ve been best friends since we were young!” Charlie chimed in, causing Adrian to shrink within herself a little. Nick’s worry alleviated as Charlie spoke.

“What are you doing here, Nick?” Adrian asked again.

“I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me this weekend?”

Charlie’s smile fell at Nick’s words. Adrian opened her mouth to speak but turned to see Charlie, his face flush with rage. Adrian felt insecure about her friend’s urge to protect her, or at least that’s what she assumed he was upset about. But all she could think of was Remus’s suggestion.

“Yeah, sure,” Adrian replied. She heard Charlie sputter for a response behind her but decided to ignore it.

“I’ll get you Friday night, yeah? We can go into town.”

“See you then, Nick.” Adrian began to shut the door while Nick waved an airy goodbye.

Adrian turned to face Charlie who was red in the face, eyes wide. She felt her heart break but soldiered on, moving to get her jacket and shoes.

“What was that?” Charlie cried.

“That was me accepting a date,” Adrian replied with a weak shrug. “Does it matter?”

“Yes! Absolutely yes!”

Adrian whipped around and exclaimed, “Why?”

“Because...because…” Charlie scoured his mind for anything as an excuse, his eyes drifting across the room. “Nick doesn’t seem like your...type.”

“Goodnight, Charlie,” Adrian shot back as she ran out the door in a huff.


	6. Speak with Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian's heart finally decides on a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: there's a sex scene in this chapter. if you want to skip it you're not missing out! when you see ** that means that things are starting to drift into that territory.

“I’m surprised you ate so much tonight,” Nick said as he opened the door to Adrian’s cabin. “I wouldn’t expect a girl like you to have such an appetite.” Adrian fought back a scoff at his blatant sexism.

She turned to face him once she entered his cabin. Adrian put her hand up against his chest to block him from entering. “That’s the great thing about women― we’re people who aren’t all the same so we don’t all have small appetites.”

“I wasn’t calling you fat!” Nick whined. This time, Adrian couldn’t help herself from rolling her eyes.

“Goodnight.” Adrian shut the door in his face.

The blonde girl kicked her shoes off as she groaned at the spectacular failure of a date and a spectacular failure of an attempt to get over Charlie. She pulled up the ottoman by the fireplace, knowing she had to talk about the date with someone. She threw the floo powder in while calling out Remus’s name. After a moment, his head appeared in the flames.

“Adrian,” he said calmly. “Lovely to see you.”

“I tried your thing,” she shot out quickly. “It went terrible.” Remus’ eyes widened while he sighed.

“What happened?”

“I just got back on a date with this bloke Nick from the reserve. The whole time he was either throwing digs at Charlie or saying some sexist bullshit.”

“I don’t mean to be rude but why did you accept to go out with him in the first place?”

“I think I was just trying to make Charlie jealous,” she sighed. 

“If Charlie admitted that he had feelings for you, what would be the point in-” Remus cut himself off as he spotted the horrified look on Adrian’s face. “You forgot step one, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Adrian groaned. “What now?”

Tonks’s head appeared next to Remus’s, an encouraging grin on her face as she said, “Shag him! Just do it!”

“I can’t just  _ do  _ that!”

“Why not?” Tonks raised an eyebrow at her friend.

“Because...it’s weird?” Adrian asked. Her eyes darted to Remus (who looked like he felt out of place) with a begging glint in them. “Remus? Help me out here?”

Remus’ eyes snapped up to Adrian’s, then to Tonks’. Tonks nudged her husband with wide eyes before Remus spoke up. “I’m afraid to say it, Adrian, but since you exhausted plan number one, maybe plan number two should be given a go.”

“You’re married to the creator of plan number two; of course you’d say that,” Adrian murmured bitterly, receiving a slight chuckle from the man in question.

“Adrian!” a familiar voice shouted from outside Adrian’s cabin.

Adrian gasped, “Charlie! Why is he here?”

“This just keeps happening, doesn’t it?” Remus teased, evoking a small snicker from his wife.

“It’s happening!” Tonks cried in a sing-song tone. “Plan two is a go! Good luck!” 

The couples’ faces disappeared from the flames as soon as Tonks finished her sentence. Before Adrian could retort to the comfort of herself, Charlie knocked on the door once more. Adrian sprung to her feet to open the door, revealing her best friend, slightly distraught with a letter in hand.

“Are you okay?” she asked as the man stormed into her house, inspecting the rooms. “What are you doing?”

Charlie sighed a breath of relief as he fell on her couch. His eyes flickered up to her as if he had just registered her question. “Checking if you had any overnight guests here.”

Adrian scoffed while she joined him on the couch. His arm was resting on the back of the cushion, so close to Adrian’s back that she just wanted to cuddle into him. “Oh please,” she laughed. “I was  _ not _ about to let that misogynistic arse in for a drink, let alone stay overnight.”

Charlie turned to look at her with an expression no short of satisfaction on his face. “That bad, huh?”

“You have  _ no _ idea.”

Adrian’s eyes drifted upwards and locked with Charlie’s. She froze slightly when Tonks’s plan crossed her mind but dismissed it in an instant. Her face began to heat up so she turned away from the red haired man beside her, her sights landing on the letter in his hand.

“What’s that for?” she questioned.

“Oh!” Charlie brought the letter towards himself before handing it to Adrian. “Mum wants to know if either one of us will be joining her for Christmas in a couple weeks.”

“Are you going?” Adrian’s eyes stayed glued to the letter, reading the kind words that Molly had written, a smile growing on her face.

“Depends,” Charlie said. Adrian raised her gaze to meet his, cocking an eyebrow.

“Depends?” she asked. “On what?”

“Your plans.”

His statement was likely platonic, but Adrian felt her heart begin to race. “M-my plans?” she stammered. “I was planning on staying here. Getting some extra work done.”

“So, it’s settled, then.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll be coming home with me.”

Initially, Adrian was stunned. She fumbled for words to thank him or to at least explain why it flustered her so much but all she could think of was plan number two. Charlie’s grin faded to confusion when Adrian continued to flounder, her cheeks a bright shade of red. As much as she told herself no, Adrian’s body reacted. She wrapped a hand around Charlie’s neck, pulling him into a kiss. As soon as she regained self control, Adrian jumped back with a squeak of embarrassment, her face redder than before. Charlie was speechless.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” she muttered. 

Charlie’s eyes snapped up and he leaned over her so that she was lying down on the couch. “Merlin, I thought it was just me.”

**Charlie dipped his head to meet her lips. He ran a firm hand through her hair before caressing her cheek with his thumb. Adrian rested one hand around his neck, the other explored his built figure. Charlie let his hands drift down her body, landing on her right breast. He began to massage it through the silk fabric of her dress, evoking a moan from her which gave him the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth.

Adrian couldn’t help but roll her hips up towards Charlie’s hardening cock in growing need for friction. The action took Charlie by surprise, pulling off of Adrian slowly.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

“Yes, of course,” Adrian responded. She reached up to brush a few fallen strands of hair out his eyes while placing a chaste kiss on his lips. “But not here.” Her eyes drifted towards her bedroom and Charlie was off of her in an instant. He reached a hand out to help her up which she gladly took, pulling him towards the quaint room.

As soon as the pair entered, Adrian had pushed him onto the bed. Charlie’s eyes widened at her sudden dominance but he simply complied. The blonde girl took the moment to remove her clothes for Charlie, her slip dress falling around her ankles to reveal a particularly exposing pair of underwear. Charlie let out a lusted breath as he took her in but Adrian didn’t give him much time to marvel as she straddled his hips, leaning down to passionately kiss him.

As she moved to his neck, her hands ventured down his shirt, popping off the buttons as if it were nothing. Adrian pulled away from Charlie’s lips to admire his bare chest like she didn’t allow herself to before. She drank in the scars and tattoos that he wouldn’t dare to tell his mother about. She ran her delicate fingers across some of the more prominent markings before letting them trail down his taut stomach. However, Charlie took the momentary pause to undo Adrian’s bra before switching positions.

This time, Charlie paused. He ogled the girl beneath him’s breasts, letting out a breathy, “Fuck.” Adrian became quite aware of the way he stared at her, squirming slightly from the attention. Charlie quickly regained his senses, diving towards her left breast. He flicked his tongue across her nipple evoking a moan from Adrian. Charlie used his free hand to travel down her body, landing at the lace trim of her panties. He slipped his hand beneath the fabric with no hesitation to trace a calloused finger around her outer lips. Just as the tension became too much to bear and Adrian opened her mouth, Charlie slipped a finger into her. She gasped at the feeling, moaning Charlie’s name.

“You’re soaked,” he muttered, his voice rough against her skin.

He pumped his fingers in and out of her at an agonizingly slow pace that had Adrian reeling at his touch. Charlie alternated between her breasts until Adrian wrapped a leg around his waist, grinding against his erection. Charlie’s head tipped upwards with a curse. Adrian used her leg to flip their positions but as soon as she was on top, she stepped off of him.

“What are you doing?” Charlie complained. He suddenly sat up to eye his friend, concern in his eyes. “We can stop if you’re uncomfortable.”

Adrian stopped, feeling her heart melt at his worry. She simply smirked before reaching towards the button on his pants, undoing them and sliding them off onto the ground. She pounced on him, their lips meeting as she rested her hand on his cock. Charlie groaned at her indirect touch, so Adrian pulled away from his lips to kneel by his cock. She slipped off his boxers while he sat up against her headboard.

“Oh fuck,” she whispered. His cock had been larger than she expected it to be― although, she wasn’t quite sure what she expected but it certainly wasn’t what was in front of her. Adrian’s eyes flickered up towards Charlie before taking in as much of him as she could.

“Cherry,” he moaned. His eyes widened in horror at what he had done but Adrian simply stopped, pulling off of him. A smirk grew on her face before she ran her tongue from base to tip, causing him to groan with slight restraint.

“Say it again,” she demanded to Charlie’s shock. “Say my name again.” Adrian plunged his cock in her mouth only to pull off quickly.

“Cherry,” he moaned once more.

“ _ Again _ .” She put the tip of his cock in her mouth and began to swirl her tongue around before taking him in again.

“Fuck,  _ Cherry! _ ” Charlie cried. He grasped at her hair, pulling her off of him. She looked up at him in confusion only to have him lean towards her to kiss her neck. In between kisses he whispered, “I want to fuck you.” The words sent a shiver down Adrian’s spine.

After Adrian slipped her panties off, Charlie grabbed her by the waist to position her on her hands and knees, evoking a squeal from Adrian. Charlie rubbed the head of his cock against her clit and Adrian’s arms wobbled as she moaned. He lined himself up before slowly pushing into her with a groan. Once he had bottomed out, he grabbed a handful of her ass while he waited for her to adjust.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I think so,” she replied. “Yeah, I think I’m fine. It’s just that...you know.”

“Know what?” His tone was rich with sarcasm and false innocence to the point where Adrian rolled her eyes, knowing he had that pretentious grin on.

“You’re such an arse,” she fired back.

“And why’s that?”

“Because you have a massive cock, Charlie,” she gave in. “Now  _ move _ for fuck’s sake!”

With that, Charlie thrust purposefully in her, his movements getting longer each time. At first it felt amazing but then it became too much of a tease for a result.

“Faster,” Adrian begged.

Charlie’s speed increased faster and faster until Adrian’s body swayed forward with the movement. She started to move her hips back to meet him and felt the familiar tension in her stomach begin to tighten.

“Don’t be so gentle!” Adrian chastised. “Spank me or  _ something! _ ”

Charlie’s pace faltered as he asked incredulously, “Spank you?”

“ _ Please! _ ”

Charlie picked up his pace again while eyeing one of his hands. He raised it, striking Adrian across her ass. Adrian’s arms gave out as she was filled with pleasure, her head burrowed in her pillows as she moaned, “Charlie!”

Charlie, understanding the results of his actions, spanked her again. Adrian moaned loudly as she gripped the sheets under her. Charlie could feel her walls tensing around him as she cried out, “I’m so close! _Fuck!_ _Charlie!_ ”

“Me too, Cherry,” he responded through heavy breaths. Charlie took his hand that he had spanked her with, sucking on his fingers before wrapping them around her body to rub feather-light circles on her clit.

“Charlie! I’m coming!” Adrian shouted in pleasure. 

Charlie thrusted in her hard and fast how she liked it, riding out her orgasm. He, too, came undone in her with a moan of her nickname as the feeling of her tightening around him became too much to handle. His motions became slow and jagged until they came to a full stop.

Charlie pulled out of her Adrian, the pair collapsing next to one another. The room was silent save for their panting breath. Finally, Adrian looked up at Charlie, whose hair had fallen out of its tie at some point that night. A grin found its way on Adrian’s face as she looked up at Charlie, brushing some of his hair behind his ear. The freckled man looked down at his friend with a soft smile at her actions. 

Adrian reached a hand up to his cheek before planting a firm kiss on his lips. They pulled away from one another and locked eyes before Adrian broke the silence with a soft giggle. She rested her head on his chest, not minding the sweat.

Charlie ran a hand through her hair as she said, “That was a long time coming, wasn’t it?”

“You have no idea.”


	7. Home for Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian and Charlie attend the Burrow for Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is definitely one of my favorite chapters because it has so many cute interactions!! enjoy :)

Adrian and Charlie had hooked up a few more times but had declared it all to be casual sex― or, at least, that’s what Adrian kept telling herself. However, every night Adrian would lie awake wondering why she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Tonks said that if she got it out of her system then her feelings would dissipate so Adrian simply blamed her residual crush on a backed up desire to be with him. She couldn’t help but blush every time he’d thrown her a smile or rolled his eyes behind someone’s back at work. Not to mention the way he’d soften when taking care of the dragons. But Adrian couldn’t dwell on her feelings at the moment, not as her and her best friend were approaching the door of the Burrow.

“Ready?” Charlie sighed. With a resolute nod from Adrian, Charlie pushed open the door to reveal utter chaos.

“Adrian!” a girl squealed. Before Adrian could locate the source of the noise, a strong pair of arms wrapped around her.

“Ginny! I missed you!” Adrian cried through laughs. The two girls rocked back and forth in a hug until Charlie cleared his throat from behind them. 

Ginny and Adrian lifted their heads to eye Charlie while Ginny said, “What? Oh, right. Hi, Charlie.”

Charlie rolled his eyes as he attempted to hide a smile. “Lovely to see you too.” Charlie wrapped his arms around the two girls who were both giggling insolently. 

“Look at you,” Adrian muttered as the girls pulled away from one another. “You’ve grown up so much! What have you been up to?”

“Playing for the Harpies,” Ginny dismissed with a shrug.

“Shut up! How did I not know that?” Adrian then turned to Charlie with her hands on her hips. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Never came up,” Charlie admitted sheepishly, receiving a glare from his best friend.

“What about you?” Ginny asked, placing a hand on Adrian’s arm to lead her to the living room where the rest of the guests were. “I heard that you’re at the reserve and such.”

“I’ve been redoing the whole damn place― it’s a wreck. On the brightside, I have loads of embarrassing stories about Charlie.”

“I’m standing right here!” he cried out from behind her.

“Like I said,” Adrian repeated. “Loads of them.”

“Adrian!” two identical voices shouted. Adrian’s head snapped up to the two boys― no,  _ men _ ― that approached her. Her eyes widened at how much they had changed since the last time that she had seen them but she wasn’t given all that much time to stare as the two lifted her into a hug.

“Merlin, boys! I can’t breathe!” Adrian choked out. The twins had put her down and Adrian held each of their arms, admiring them.

“Look at you two,” she muttered. “You’re all grown up.”

“In more ways than one,” Fred teased, winking at the older girl.

George shouldered his twin while he said, “You have a girlfriend, you git.”

Adrian’s eyes widened in shock at the statement. Had Fred, the man who was years younger than her, settled down before she did? “You have a girlfriend?”

“Why? Fred asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Are you jealous?”

Adrian scoffed and opened her mouth to retort Fred’s statement, but George interrupted her. “No, she’s just glad that she can settle down with me.”

Adrian let out a nervous laugh. The twins had always been flirtatious when they were younger but never to an extent where it was a possibility. She used to babysit the Weasley kids with Charlie when their parents went out. Being the only girl in the house that the boys weren’t related to, the younger kids developed variations of a crush on her the same way a child would develop feelings for the nanny. She always had the opportunity to push them off because they were too young but now they were grown and she couldn’t believe that they hadn’t let their feelings go― even if they were just joking.

“Leave her alone,” Charlie sighed. He walked over, placing a hand on the small of her back. The touch sent a jolt through Adrian’s body as she stood at attention.

“Ah,” George said with a wistful nod. “I see. You two have finally settled down together.”

Adrian and Charlie let out lame protests towards the cackling boy. George walked away from them, leaving their excuses unheard. Adrian noticed that Charlie removed his hand from her back after George left them and she attempted to push away the feeling of disappointment.

Charlie walked towards the rest of his family who were stationed around the room. Adrian followed behind him as she joined in the conversation. Everyone around her seemed to have a partner (excluding George) and the weight it put on Adrian’s shoulders was nearly unbearable. She squirmed every time one of Charlie’s siblings mentioned their relationship. At one point, Adrian was sure that Charlie caught her staring at him. Her cheeks flushed as she averted her eyes but Charlie seemed confused by her actions. Fortunately, before he probed, Molly called out that dinner was ready.

Adrian hoped that dinner would allow for all of the relationship talk to be settled but she forgot how persistent Molly was. Adrian felt like she might as well be a part of the family at this point seeing as she knew so much about the Weasleys’ lives. Everyone had a partner excluding Charlie, George, and Percy. Bill was married and expecting a child. The whole conversation just reminded her of the feelings she tried to suppress; she really couldn’t get over Charlie no matter how many times they “meaninglessly” hooked up.

Dinner had ended and the family moved to the living room once more for drinks. Charlie and Bill, being the two oldest, offered to do the dishes. Adrian also tried to offer her services but Molly declined, forcing her onto the couch. Molly brought her a mug of hot chocolate while she awkwardly sat on the couch― to Adrian, it felt strange that she sat alone.

She quickly drank her hot chocolate and slipped out of the room towards the kitchen to hand the empty mug over to the two men. However, at the sound of hushed whispers, Adrian froze out of their line of sight.

“Just tell her,” Bill advised. Charlie let out a frustrated sigh and Adrian was sure that he was running his hand through his hair with distress.

“I can’t, Bill. Our relationship has been preserved for far too long.” Adrian’s heart jumped at his statement; he wasn’t talking about her, was he?

“You’ve seen her naked, Charlie,” Bill sighed. “Your relationship is far from preserved.”

Adrian gasped but immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, hoping that the brothers didn’t hear her. She waited a minute before leaning in closer to the kitchen, tuning back in to their conversation.

“This has been over 25 years in the making, Bill!”

“Charlie, she likes you,” Bill began. Charlie scoffed, cueing Bill to continue. “A lot. Any sane person could tell that from the way you two interact.”

Adrian felt her heart furiously beating in her chest while she awaited Charlie’s response. Finally, he spoke up.

“You think?” His voice sounded so full of hope that Adrian fought off the urge to interject.

“Of course!” Bill laughed to himself before continuing, “Plus, everyone knows that you two have been sleeping together― it’s more obvious than the ring box in Harry’s pocket.”

Adrian felt her face heat up and she was sure that Charlie was blushing as well; the ring was quite obvious. But Adrian took a few deep breaths to calm down the redness in her cheeks before the brothers began to bicker and stepped into the kitchen, clearing her throat. The men whipped their heads towards her. The color drained from Charlie’s face as he recognized Adrian, who stood with the empty mug between her gentle hands.

“Thought I’d give you two my empty mug before Molly gives me more hot chocolate.” Adrian inched towards them, placing the mug in Charlie’s grasp. He shook his head as her fingers grazed his coarse skin, coming back into reality.

“I think I hear mum calling me,” Bill excused lamely. Adrian bit back a smile while Charlie’s eyes went wide with warning. “Do you mind taking over, Adrian?”

“I’d love to.”

Bill scooted out of the room and left the two unlikely lovers by themselves. Charlie turned to face the wet dishes in front of him, picking up the rag. Adrian’s eyes amusedly roved over his body before following suit in his actions.

The pair worked in silence until Adrian couldn’t take the tension. “You’re one of the bravest people I know, Charlie,” she began. Charlie eyed her in shock at her angle. “You work with dragons without a single ounce of doubt or fear in you. How come, when it comes to women― when it comes to me― that you can’t be brave?”

Charlie froze. A large part of him knew that she had heard his and Bill’s conversation but it wasn’t confirmed until that very moment. “You heard what I said, didn’t you?”

“Just a little bit,” she admitted. “But I suppose I’m slightly at fault, as well.”

“How so?” Charlie turned to face the girl on his right, propping his hip up against the counter.

Adrian took a deep breath; it was her turn to be brave. “I’ve had feelings for you for a while now. I think it finally hit me one day that I might like you as more than a friend, and since then I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I talked to Tonks about it-”

“You talked to Tonks about how you were attracted to me?” Charlie questioned incredulously.

“And Remus,” Adrian added. “But Tonks advised that I should try to...get one out of my system.” Adrian’s face turned a deep shade of red so she turned her attention back to the dish in her hand, wiping it off furiously.

“Pardon?” Charlie leaned towards her in an effort to antagonize her― it worked. She let out a huff before looking up at the red haired man that was only centimeters away from her face. The close proximity caused her anger to falter so she turned back towards the dishes.

“You know, get one out of your system? As in...as in shag them so you stop thinking about them,” Adrian muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

“What?” Charlie asked. Adrian looked up at him, thinking that he was simply confused but his expression read as complete and utter betrayal. “That’s why you started to ‘casually’ see me? So you could stop thinking about me?”

“Merlin, this sounds really bad aloud, but yes.”

Charlie scoffed. He rolled his eyes and made his way to the door but Adrian ran after him. She grabbed his arm to stop him and he reluctantly halted.

“Can I please explain myself?” Adrian asked. 

Charlie took a moment to consider but then said, “Fine.”

“Ever since I got to Romania there’s been a part of me that hasn’t been able to get over how much you’ve changed. It’s not as if you’re wildly different from the last time I saw you it’s just...I think I started to realize just how much you care for me. I talked to Tonks and Remus because I thought that you didn't reciprocate my feelings so they were giving me ways to get over you but, no matter which of their plans I tried, I couldn’t. I still can’t. Merlin, being around your family and their significant others makes me go mad because all I want is for them to be talking about us! Is that only me?”

Charlie stared at her in shock. When he gave her the chance to explain herself he almost didn’t want a good explanation just so that he could be mad at something; he forgot how well spoken she was. Charlie pulled her closer into a tender kiss. He pulled away from her, resting his forehead against hers.

“It’s not just you,” he whispered before pulling her into another kiss. Right as their lips met, a shout from Fred caused the two to jump apart.

“Oi, George! Pay up!”

Adrian’s and Charlie’s faces began to redden as they saw Fred staring at them with a satisfied grin. George sauntered into the room and fished out some money to hand his twin.

“I can’t believe it already happened,” George grumbled.

Fred counted the money and smiled. “Wicked.”

Adrian faced Charlie, absolutely mortified. The twins had left them alone but it was highly likely (based on the shouts from the living room) that they had announced the situation to the rest of the family.

“What’s going on?” Adrian asked, panic seeping into her voice. “What do we do?”

“I think it’s best for us to regroup with everyone so that they stop speculating about where we are and what we’re doing based on the twins’ exaggerations.” Adrian opened her mouth to protest but Charlie reached out for her hand, rubbing the back of one hand with both of his thumbs. The unfamiliar action stilled Adrian. She looked up to Charlie, who said, “We can chat about this later.”

Adrian sat on the couch the next morning. She sipped on her coffee contemplatively as she admired the falling snow. She had always adored snowfall on Christmas mornings― it was the kind of thing that made the day feel even more special.

Adrian was pulled from her thoughts when she heard footsteps padding down the stairs. She looked up to see Charlie struggling to put on a shirt while he walked. The little chuckle from the girl on the couch alerted him to her presence. He froze once he got his shirt on, locating the source of the laugh.

“Hey,” he said. His voice was slightly raspy from sleep and it caused a shiver to run down Adrian’s spine in the most maddening way.

“Hey,” she replied. “So excited for Christmas that you woke up extra early?”

Charlie let out a quiet laugh as he made his way towards the couch. He sat next to Adrian, who tucked her legs in and moved to face him.

“I wish. I’m used to waking up early for the morning shift so my internal alarm clock wouldn’t let me have a lie in.”

“That’s a shame.” Adrian took a sip of her coffee while turning her head to look at the snow-covered landscape. She turned back to face Charlie when he tapped on her thigh.

“What about you? Why are you up?”

“I like the sunrise,” she admitted, turning to look out the window once more.

“Listen,” Charlie began cautiously. “We should talk about last night.” Adrian’s heart stilled as she moved her head slowly to lock eyes with him.

“Yeah, we should.”

“I really like you, Adrian. I want this to be something, I really do.” Charlie reached out to hold her free hand between the both of his. He paused for a moment as he contemplated what to say next. “What do  _ you _ want?”

Adrian didn’t know what to say. Her eyes began to dart back and forth as she processed each thought that came to her. The concerned expression plastered on Charlie’s face made her heart ache in her chest. Then it finally came to her― she needed to stop listening to her brain so much and start listening to her heart.

“I want you,” she said firmly.

A weight lifted off of her shoulders as she confessed her feelings to the man across from her; the man that had been her best friend since childhood, the man that had stuck with her even when they were apart, the man who provided her with a home away from home.

Charlie reached out to Adrian, placing a gentle kiss against her lips. He rested his forehead against hers and she let out an easy laugh, her eyes creasing. Charlie pulled away to place a kiss to her forehead before she cuddled into his side. He wrapped an arm around her which gave her the space to rest her head against his chest. Although Charlie was playing it cool (minus the wide grin on his face), Adrian could hear how fast his heart was beating.

“This is the best Christmas gift I could have gotten,” Charlie joked.

Adrian took a sip of her coffee to hide her chuckle before she said, “Happy Christmas, Charlie.”

Adrian felt Charlie plant a kiss to the top of her head. “Happy Christmas, Cherry.”

The smile that crept its way onto Adrian’s face quickly faded as she remembered her work policies. “Charlie, now that you’re my boyfriend-”

“I’m your boyfriend?” he teased, an incredulous look on his face. Adrian straightened in his arms as her face turned red, sputtering for words.

“Well, I...I mean...I just  _ assumed _ that-”

“It does seem like the logical step seeing that every time we spent time together, it was just a date without the sex.” Charlie pondered his initial statement before correcting, “Most of the time there wasn’t sex.”

“Right,” she said. Her face began to turn a little less red and she thanked Merlin that she didn’t already screw up their relationship. “Anyway, now that you’re my boyfriend we have to go over a few workplace guidelines.”

Charlie groaned. “That’s right, I forgot you were in Ravenclaw.” Adrian nudged into his chest and he laughed at her attempt to hurt him. “Carry on.”

“We can’t go public about our relationship at work quite yet because of the restrictions put in place by my agency.”

“Okay, so what does  _ that _ entail?”

“No public dates or outings as a couple, no PDA, obviously you can’t tell anybody-”

“How long do I have to pretend like I don’t even know you?” Charlie whined.

“Merlin, Charlie, it’s not the end of the world! It’ll take a few weeks to get the paperwork in-”

“A few  _ weeks! _ You must be joking.” Adrian sat up and hid her laugh at Charlie’s mock pout.

“Would you rather date in secret for a few weeks or have me transferred to another country?” Charlie’s mouth sat agape at her comment. “That’s what I thought. Now suck it up.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. 

A smile crept onto his lips as he looked down at his now girlfriend. She leaned forward, planting a resolute kiss against his lips. Adrian slinked into his arms once more as they awaited for the rest of the family to wake. Although, neither wanted the moment to end.


	8. Realistic Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian recalls a regrettable truth about her job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is pretty short but I thought it was sweet! I hope you all like it!

Adrian sat in her office as she filled out her final sections of form 81B― also known as the form that would allow her and Charlie to date in public. She eyed over the form after she signed her name, making sure that both her’s and her boyfriend’s parts were in order. Once she was satisfied, she sent the large packet into the floo to her agency.

Adrian rubbed her hands on the fabric of her skirt to rid herself of the anxious sweat that she got. As she made her way back towards her desk there was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Adrian called out. She settled at her desk and pulled her wand out, flicking a few more lights on.

“Hi, Charlotte.”

“Marius, lovely to see you.” 

Adrian pulled her chair in after she gestured to the seat across from her. Marius quickly scuttled into the seat before a wide grin appeared on his face. He pulled a few pieces of paper out from behind his back and looked anxious to hand them over.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of your smile?” Adrian asked, grinning as well.

“Sign here,” Marius stated while pushing the set of papers towards her.

Adrian grabbed her reading glasses off her desk and scanned the contract. “What’s this?” Adrian removed her glasses and leaned forward on her arm inquisitively. “I thought the lecture hall was finished before the holidays.”

“The main structure, yes. But everyone on the reserve― especially those closest to you― would like to honor your work.”

“I don’t think I quite understand.”

“We’d like to name the hall after you.”

Adrian’s mouth fell agape. In all her years working with magical creature sanctuaries, never had she seen a tribute to an agent. She collected herself but her surprise still read on her features.

“That is so incredibly kind of you. Thank you.” 

Marius chuckled and nodded before tapping on the papers in front of her. “Sign here.” 

Adrian began to sign the papers while she asked, “Why name this after me? Why name  _ anything _ after me?”

“Consider it thanks for turning this place around,” he said with a shrug. “And we wanted something to remember you by.”

Adrian’s head shot up. “Remember me by?”

“Right, something to remember you by.” Adrian furrowed her brow at him to which he asked cautiously, “You know you’re not going to be here forever?”

Adrian cleared her throat and went back to signing the papers. She had absolutely forgotten that. “Yes, I know that,” she lied.

Adrian gave her last signature before sliding the paper over towards Marius. He eyed the sheets and grinned happily as he tucked them under his arm. Standing up, he shook Adrian’s hand while he said, “It’s been a pleasure.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” she responded weakly.

Adrian knocked at Charlie’s cabin door, pulling her coat tighter around her to fight the cold. Charlie opened the door while her eyes were examining the field behind her so he pulled her into a kiss to gain her attention. She fell into it before realizing she was in view of watchful eyes. Albeit, it was past dark but she didn’t want to be caught before the papers went through. Adrian flailed against Charlie to which he pulled away and chuckled, a firm hand still around her waist.

“What?” Charlie teased. Adrian pushed his hand off her as she stalked into his house.

“Anyone could have seen us!” she cried. She leaned against the wall by the kitchen table, her arms crossed disapprovingly.

“Damn,” Charlie said with a frown. “We should’ve given them a bigger show, then.”

Charlie walked up to his girlfriend, placing his hands on the wall by her head. Adrian sucked in a sharp breath at his close contact, his breath ghosting over her lips. He leaned in slightly closer to give her a confident yet passionate kiss. Their lips moved together in harmony and the anger that Adrian held fled from her body. The couple was only broken up by the sound of a timer from the kitchen.

“Sorry about that,” Charlie muttered as he sheepishly pulled away from her. Adrian lost in the battle of fighting back a smile at her boyfriend’s ability to go from lusted to embarrassed; she had known him for 27 years and he never failed to make her smile.

Adrian settled at his table as he placed their dinners down. The two chatted about their days but found themselves more often sitting in silence― mostly on Adrian’s part. She had wanted to talk to Charlie about the realization she had had earlier that day with Marius but was unsure how to bring it up.

“Adrian?” Charlie called abruptly. Adrian’s eyes snapped up to his while her cheeks tinted pink.

“Sorry, did you say something?”

“I asked if you were doing alright.” Adrian nodded, not taking the cue. Charlie repeated, “Are you doing alright?”

“Oh,” Adrian said, finally catching on. “Oh, yes.”

Charlie eyed her skeptically before returning to his meal. The two resumed eating in silence until Adrian asked, “You know that they’re naming the lecture hall after me?”

“Marius had you sign off on it today, didn’t he?”

A pale imitation of her smile crept on her face. “You were in on it, weren’t you?”

“Guilty,” Charlie admitted, a smirk present.

“Something Marius said got me thinking,” she began, “I’m not going to be around here forever.”

Charlie’s face became lifeless and he dropped his fork in shock. “Merlin, are you sick?” Charlie asked.

“No,” Adrian chuckled. “I’m perfectly healthy, mind you. What I meant was that I won’t be in Romania forever.”

“Godric, woman, you nearly cost my life.” Charlie clutched his chest dramatically, earning a snort of laughter from the lady across from him. “So you won’t be in Romania forever, fine-”

“Fine?” Adrian repeated, slightly appalled. “You think that’s fine? What’s going to happen to us? I don’t know about you but I’d like this relationship to go somewhere.”

“I want this to go somewhere too, believe me but I see no point in worrying about the future. We have no clue when you’ll be leaving.”

“I think dating me might have damaged your memory of our 27 year long friendship because, if you can’t recall, all I do is worry about the future!”

“Hey,” Charlie said. His calm voice grounded Adrian, now looking at Charlie with anxious eyes. “Once we figure out how much longer you’ll be here, then we can start worrying about the future.”

“That sounds...fair,” she admitted. Adrian released a sigh of relief before returning to her dinner.

“Adrian?”

“Yes?”

“Even if we go long distance, there’s no way that I’m going to leave you.”


	9. Company Approval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian gets in hot water with Nick and Marius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is short but this is the last real chapter before the epilogue!!

Adrian walked into the main building, waving to Vivian as she entered. The enthusiastic girl waved back but faltered in her movements as if she had just remembered something. She ducked her head down, furiously writing something as if she was trying to avoid Adrian’s eyes. Adrian, picking up on the suspicious behavior, slowed in her steps by Vivian’s desk. Although Adrian stood in front of the receptionist, she refused to look up. Adrian knocked on the desk expectantly to meet Vivian’s timid eyes.

“Viv?” Adrian tested. “Are you okay?”

“Just fine, thanks!” Vivian squeaked back, clearly nervous about something.

“What’s going on?” she prodded.

“Nothing!”

“You’re acting...strange...” Adrian trailed off as she recognized her name and Charlie’s name being yelled from Marius’s office.

Adrian walked towards the noise in a trance-like state, ignoring Vivian’s pleas to stop. She pushed open the door to reveal Nick raving to Marius. Marius’ eyes widened at the sight of her, tipping Nick off to her presence.

“What’s going on here?” Adrian asked. Her eyes darted between the two men as if she were interrogating them.

“Don’t play stupid,” Nick spat.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I know you and Weasley are together so you’ve been giving him special treatment.”

Adrian’s jaw went slack. She collected herself but words wouldn’t form. All she could wonder was how did he find out? As if he read her mind, he said, “I saw you two making out on his porch the other night. Give it up, Charlotte.”

“Is this because you took me on a pure shit date and I never spoke to you outside work again?”

“Nikolas!” Marius exclaimed. Anger was present in his features, his brow furrowed and his mouth taut. “Is that what this is really about?”

“It wasn’t pure shit; you loved every second of it!” Nick yelled at Adrian.

“Let me recall the best part: misogynist bingo or dunks on Charlie? Ravena, I can’t decide― they were both so wonderful!” Adrian shot back.

“Enough!” Marius declared. The two people in front of him turned to face him, neither pretending to hide the annoyance coursing through their veins.

“Charlotte, have you or have you not been giving Charlie special treatment at work due to the nature of your relationship?”

“Absolutely not,” she responded in a heartbeat.

“Fantastic! Then I’m not delusional. Charlotte, please make sure that it stays this way― I wouldn’t want to have to contact your agency for inappropriate conduct.”

“Of course, sir.”

Adrian ducked out of the room before throwing one final glare at Nick. As she exited the room, unable to process her emotions yet, she was met with the confused complexion belonging to her boyfriend.

“What the hell was going on in there?” Charlie questioned. 

Adrian guided him to her office before she responded, “Nick found out about us and was trying to get me in trouble. I wasn’t too sure what his endgame was.”

“Are you in trouble?” Charlie’s heart began to pound in his chest; maybe worrying about the future wasn’t such a bad idea?

“No, I’m fine. Marius said that if this doesn’t affect my work then he won’t be contacting my agency.”

Adrian noticed how her boyfriend’s shoulders relaxed at the news. She walked over to him and took his hands in her own. She met his eyes with a sincere smile while she said, “We’re okay.”

“I know.”

Adrian walked past the small lecture hall, stopping when she spotted her boyfriend explaining about a new dragon that they had just taken in. He reached behind him and picked up a small figurine of said dragon, handing it to the young girl he was talking to.

The girl began to play with the dragon, slightly tuning Charlie out. The girl’s father came over, patting his daughter on the back to signal that they should leave. Charlie stood up to shake hands with the man while the girl waved at him with glee.

After the family exited, Adrian entered the now empty room. She leaned against the doorframe with a soft grin, eyeing her boyfriend.

“Looks like you’re not half bad at your job, Weasley,” Adrian teased. Charlie chuckled as he packed away a few things. He snatched the remote for the television off of the bench, clicking the slideshow off.

“I’d like to think so.”

Adrian jerked her head towards her office and Charlie followed behind her. “You’re not so terrible with kids.”

“That does happen to be a perk when it comes to being a Weasley.”

Adrian opened her door while Charlie examined some findings in her office. He picked up a picture of the two of them, admiring it reminiscently.

“How could I forget about that?”

Charlie let out a snort of laughter as he approached her desk. The two sat down in their respective chairs, Charlie kicking his feet onto her desk. Adrian gave him a pointed frown before trying to wrestle the stack of letters his feet had landed on out from underneath his shoe. Once she had freed the letters, her gaze fell solemn.

“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked. He removed his feet from the desk and leaned forward to peer at the letter in her hands.

“It’s from my agency,” she explained shakily, slowly turning the envelope to face him. “It’s about us.”

“Open it!” Charlie urged.

Adrian furiously shook her head while she said, “What if it’s bad news? What then?”

“Marius doesn’t care and he’s who you’re  _ really _ working for.”

Adrian dropped the letter on her desk. She stood up to pace back and forth, her movements meticulous. “I can’t do it.”

“What?” Charlie exclaimed incredulously. “What do you mean you can’t do it?”

“I can’t open that thing!” Adrian came to a stop and began to tap her fingers against her arms.

“Why not?”

“I don’t think I could take any bad news.”

Charlie sighed, standing up to meet his girlfriend. He grabbed her by the shoulders, stilling her anxiety. She tried to avoid his stare but she eventually met his eyes which seemed dead set on reasoning with her.

“Adrian, I really like you-”

“I really like you, too-”

“So whatever is in that envelope doesn’t determine what happens to us, okay?” Adrian looked away from his eyes so he repeated, “Okay?”

“Fine,” she finally muttered.

Charlie reached over to her desk, handing her the letter. She took a deep breath before opening it. Her expression was unreadable as her eyes scanned the paper. Slowly, she looked up at Charlie.

“What? What does it say?” Charlie asked, panic rising in his voice.

A smile spread across Adrian’s features as she turned the form to face Charlie, who also adopted a large grin.

“Approved.”


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens to Adrian and Charlie when Adrian's service in Romania is finished?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the epilogue! it's short but I think that it's sweet :) hope you all liked this story!!

She wasn’t sure how she had done it but she’d done it, Adrian had completely revamped the reserve. It had taken her the better part of 2 years before she had rebuilt and modernized the sanctuary while maintaining its rustic charm.

She had officially moved into Charlie’s cabin since their paperwork had gotten approved about a week after she sent it in. The couple made an iconic duo; fluid between brains and brawn. But Adrian’s work had come to end― it was time for her to leave Romania and, more importantly, Charlie.

About a week before she had to leave, Adrian had to administer her final paperwork to the Romanian Ministry of Magic. She was given a temporary office in the Care of Magical Creatures Department to finalize her work that she would provide to, not only the head of the department, but the minister herself.

The trio was adjourned in the conference room where Adrian supplied them with proof of her work at the reserve and evidence that her work was helpful to the existence of the reserve. The two ministry workers were so impressed that they had offered her a job as the PR Director of the department. What Adrian hadn’t told Charlie was that she got offered the job, never mind accepting it.

The only reason that Adrian didn’t tell him was because she realized that she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life with him and the thought of telling him that scared her to death. They had been together for a little over a year and they loved one another, but Adrian told Charlie that they shouldn’t get married just because she was leaving. However, now she had a reason: she wanted to.

Adrian was walking back to their cabin with Charlie the night before she said she was leaving. Charlie decided to treat her to dinner and a night in the neighboring village as a goodbye. Adrian could barely enjoy the night because she dreaded the fact that that night she had to talk to her boyfriend. She decided after dinner that she would tell him once they arrived at the cabin but there they were at the door and Adrian was fully unprepared.

Adrian opened the door to the cabin, her hand shaking on the knob. She took no more than two steps in before turning around and declaring, “I’m staying in Romania.”

However, her statement was talked over by Charlie who rested behind her on one knee, a ring box popped open. “Will you marry me?”

Adrian gasped while Charlie cocked a brow, lowering the box. “What?” Adrian and Charlie exclaimed simultaneously.

“You go first,” Charlie stated as he began to stand up. Adrian’s eyes widened as she shoved him back onto one knee.

“You just proposed to me and told me my thing is more important? Are you dense? Go!”

“You...you want to?” Charlie stammered. Adrian sighed; she was going to have to go first, wasn’t she?

“I’ve known you for 28 years now and I’ve always known that, in some way or another, I’d be spending the rest of my life with you. Falling in love with you was the easiest  _ and _ best thing that has ever happened to me.

“I was offered a job at the Romanian Ministry as the PR Director of the Care of Magical Creatures Department. I took it because I knew that long distance couldn’t be an option for us because...I want to marry you.”

Tears began to trickle down Adrian’s face but she quickly brushed them away. Charlie also began to tear up but fought it back as he choked out, “Adrian, I love you. I’ve been in love with you since we became friends. I felt like I was mad when you directly told me not to propose because you were leaving. But this isn’t because you were leaving, it’s because I can’t spend another day pretending that I wasn’t ready to marry you.” Adrian let out a strangled laugh as she eyed the man before her, tears carelessly streaming down her cheeks.

“Adrian, will you marry me?”

Adrian didn’t have to think.

“Yes!”

Charlie stood up, wrapping his now fiancée in his strong arms. Adrian grasped at his body before they pulled away, Charlie planting a quick kiss on her lips. He pulled the ring from the box and Adrian presented her hand, having him slip it on her finger.

Adrian admired the ring in all of its simple beauty. The design was intricate, yet there wasn’t much to it. She absolutely adored the elegance of it, the princess cut diamond laying between entangled bands.

“I love it,” Adrian murmured. Looking up into her fiancé’s eyes, she placed a delicate hand to his cheek. “I love you, Charlie.”

“I love you too, Cherry.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Check out my stories on Wattpad @15dogs and follow me on Tumblr @15-dogs! Feel free to review my story-- I'd love to hear from all of you!


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